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The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

Student Spotlight

Public Health

Public health refers to social, cultural, economic, and geographic conditions that affect a population's well-being. To assist local, national, and international health agencies and organizations, RAND conducts research on public health issues including disaster preparedness and recovery; surveillance, prevention, and management of infectious disease outbreaks; screening for and prevention of chronic diseases; and ways to strengthen the public health infrastructure.

Modern medicine is built on the promise that antibiotics will clear away the bacteria that made everything from skin infections to surgery potentially lethal just a few generations ago. But drug-resistant strains of disease have spread in recent years.

Public health experts can identify nations that are vulnerable to the occurrence and impact of future outbreaks of Ebola or other emergencies by using a screening tool that evaluates a nation's strengths across a wide range of measures such as political strength and health care capabilities.

Thirty percent of all supermarket sales can be attributed to end-of-aisle displays, where retailers have placed more foods that increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. Relocating those foods to less conspicuous places would still allow those who want them to get them, but the decision to buy would be deliberate rather than impulsive.

The experiences of African countries that successfully contained Ebola early can be informative for government officials, international organizations, and aid agencies seeking to capture the underlying factors that affect countries' resilience to such outbreaks and can help them prepare for high-risk scenarios.

Response efforts to the 2014 Ebola outbreak highlighted both strengths and weaknesses. Researchers have created a tool that may help inform and guide ongoing efforts in the midst of similar public health emergencies, rather than after the fact.

When public health emergencies arise, policymakers must assess and compare interventions to determine the best way forward. Using Ebola as an example, RAND developed a simple, practical, proof-of-concept tool that may fill gaps in a decisionmaker's ability to systematically assess options in a public health emergency.

To help address China's smoking problem, China's parliament is considering a ban on all tobacco ads except those at point-of-sale retail locations. How does this compare to the current state of play regarding Chinese tobacco ads? And could the new law shift the tobacco-control landscape?

For much of 2014, the world has confronted the most deadly Ebola outbreak since the discovery of the disease in 1976. What lessons have emerged? What should the world do to better prepare for transnational outbreaks?

RAND Europe is reviewing the evidence of effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and related qualitative evidence relating to changing risk-related behaviours pertaining to antimicrobial use to inform the development of Department of Health/NICE guidelines aimed at delaying antimicrobial resistance.

More and more bacterial and viral infections are resistant to antimicrobial drugs. But no new classes of antibiotics have entered the market for more than 25 years. Researchers estimate that failing to address this issue will mean a lower world population in 2050 than expected and at least $2 trillion in lost global GDP.

Crafting an effective, whole-community strategy to respond to Ebola could stop the spread of the disease now and lay groundwork for responses to future outbreaks and other emergencies. In the long run, this could make public preparedness and resilience valuable assets for the U.S.

Malpractice reform has been advocated by many experts as a key to reining in health care costs. Three states raised the standard for malpractice in the emergency room to gross negligence, but that did not translate into less-expensive care.

Operation United Assistance, which includes the deployment of 3,000 U.S. military personnel to West Africa to respond to the Ebola crisis, is a welcome recognition of the range of missions the military is increasingly able to tackle, particularly in disaster-management assistance.

Medical and public health systems are crucial to controlling the transmission of Ebola and treating patients. But the public's role in becoming aware and engaged, both in West Africa and the United States, cannot be overstated.

Malpractice reform has been advocated by many experts as a key to reining in health care costs. Three states raised the standard for malpractice in the emergency room to gross negligence, but that did not translate into less-expensive care.

The purpose of these updated guidelines is to provide interested persons and organizations in western Pennsylvania with updated information on Legionella and how to minimize its occurrence and impact in people and in the environment.

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Researcher Spotlight

Social Scientist

Stephanie Taylor is a social scientist with the RAND Corporation. As a public health and health services researcher, she examines how contextual factors (i.e., neighborhoods, health care settings, etc.) are related to health and health service utilization in issues such as patient safety, HIV…

Senior Statistician

Madhumita (Bonnie) Ghosh-Dastidar is a senior statistician and director of the Statistics Consulting Center. She works in the areas of HIV and mental health interventions, obesity, and population studies. Her expertise includes study design, survey methods, evaluations, non-response analysis,…

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.